MX-3.com

Hi there,

Apologies if this is not in the right section, I have a few problems i need some advice on, so would appreciate any help

I bought my car in May 2009 from a garage who got it in a PX, apart from a little carpark dent on driver door and some other minor dings, it seemed fine, MOT passed no advisorys, new cambelt and brake pads fitted, they said it was a 1.6 auto with mx-5 engine. Not a v6.

Anyway all seemed ok (nothing to compare to really as drove a Saab 900 before lol) but it felt sluggish when pulling away and seemed to drink fuel, as well as a fuel smell on exiting car from exhaust area. I then noticed something leaking under car when i pulled away from car park space, so i felt it and it smelled like oil. I took it to my mechanic to investigate the crappy fuel consumption, and he noticed the following;

* wrong maf sensor and air box - doesn't line up, also a pipe for airbox(filter) not connected as nothing to connect to because wrong air box.

* steel cooler pipes for auto transmission rusted - need replacing (he has fixed this now)

* The rocker cover for gasket had had sealant used to seal it and lots of it so when this expanded it has leaked over front, quite a lot.

* i think he said cv joint needs attention as when he drove it, he could hear ticking.

also he thinks it's not a 1.6 after all, as engine does not look same when he compared it to the manual booklet (garage gave me the manual when i bought it they also said it was registered in UK in 1999) I checked this out on internet too with my registration number.
He seems to think it could be a 1.8 or lower than 1.6??? as it just doesn't look as it should.
I do remember the garage telling me the prev owner had done some mods on it, and naively when garage said it had passed MOT, i assumed this meant it was all up to spec and OK.

Sorry for such a long post (i'm a woman! )
If i take some pics and post them on here of engine can somebody experienced in mx-3 auto's take a look and let me know what they think???
Also any suggestions on correct maf sensor and air box/filter? please.
To give you an idea of how crappy fuel consumption is I filled tank up full = £46 (GBP)
and all i got was 70 miles!!! Now i have heard that auto's aren't great for fuel economy but surely i should get more than this??

Anyway will stop rambling now

Any ideas and advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated
I'll post some pics shortly

Thank you in advance

being a UK mx.. I'd say you might have the 1.5 dohc... Just a guess so far. The more pics you can get the better we can help.

If you're only getting 70 miles to a tank you're leaking fuel. I couldn't see the car running at all if it was that rich even due to an incorrect ECU/MAF combination. That may explain the scent of petrol (some UK lingo for ya), as for it passing MOT I can't tell you why. As for the sluggishness, it is a 4cyl auto transaxle that is 14 years old so that should be indicative of that predicament. I'm a V6 bloke so I'm not sure about your MAF issue, try pulling out the lower plastic panel beside your gas pedal and get the ECU code off the decal (The ECU will be bolted to the floor). Then proceed to the MAF and get the code for that too, call your local dealership with those two numbers as well as your VIN and they should be able to tell you over the phone if it's the correct combination. Make sure to do your best to contact the previous owner/technician of the vehicle to find which modifications have been performed. Chances are the car was mickey moused back together after a catastrophic failure.

Hi guys Thanks for your replies, i haven't been able to get pics yet, but will post them asap, i will also get VIN and the other numbers you mentioned, and this should build up a picture of what this is. I hope to god it all matches up ok. Otherwise if different engine then my insurance is null and void as DVLA know it as a 1.6! Ah the joy of imports

I have a better idea of what i'm looking for now so thank you
According to my brother who has also been helping me, if it's got 3 spark plugs it's a v6 1.8 and if 4 it's a 1.6. (i think i have remembered that right )

Anyway thanks again, i will post more soon when i have looked up this info and got some pics.

Hi there, I've managed to find out it's a 4 cylinder, 16 valve 1.6, so thats somthing.

The numbers i took down from plate under bonnet near where dash meets windscreen are as follows;
Model: EC
NTA No: 0341503v
VIN?: JMZEC13C500204706
i don't think this is the right number as it's invalid when i check it on a vin check website.

J = County (Japan)
MZ = Manufacturer (Mazda)

but the rest isn't right.... i need to have another look at check engine number on engine itself. Have taken pics but not transferred to PC yet.

Could you post a photo of the engine? Alot of those imports came with the 1.5 Z5 engine as used in the 323F.

I can check your VIN on my Mazda Electronic Parts catalogue tonight.